Defiant under fire, Cronulla are pledging to silence their growing bunch of critics with a shock, season-saving NRL upset win over reigning premiers Penrith.
Branded flat-track bullies, the Sharks have been widely written off after back-to-back losses to the Warriors and Manly left Craig Fitzgibbon’s side walking the finals tightrope.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Broncos winger Ashleigh Werner sent off for biting Jayme Fressard.
Watch the latest sport on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>
Much has been made of Cronulla’s one-from-eight record against top-eight opposition, but the Sharks believe they can wipe the slate pristinely clean with a victory over the Panthers in Penrith on Saturday night.
“It’s not fully crisis stage yet. We’re still sitting in sixth place and obviously it’s probably the tightest comp in the history of the NRL,” power forward Toby Rudolph said on Wednesday.
“But our backs are against the wall every week and that’s the way we want to play.
“Obviously the last two weeks we haven’t shown that but we’re looking to change that this week in a remarkable fashion.”
Rather than dwell on falling painfully short of pulling off the biggest comeback win in 115 seasons of premiership history, Cronulla are drawing confidence from Sunday’s 30-26 home loss to Manly.
The Sharks trailed 30-0 before conjuring a spirited second-half revival, only to bomb a late chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The fightback was in stark contrast to the surrender to the Warriors and has left the Sharks calling it a “stepping stone” to build on for Penrith.
Saturday’s showdown not only pits the top two sides from last year’s minor premiership against each other, but also the best attacking side — statistically at least — from 2023 against the strongest defence.
Cronulla are scoring an average of 27.5 points a game this campaign and Penrith conceding an average of only 13.11.
“The way they defend, it’s a marvel to look at and we’ll have our hands full this weekend,” Rudolph said.
“But we’re more than up to the challenge.
“Every week’s an audition to put what we’ve been talking about to the test and there’s no better test than the two-time defending premiers.
“That’s the team we all want to emulate or all want to be.
“We want to be up there on grand final day lifting the shield above our heads and, at the moment, there’s no one better to put that to the test than Penrith.”
Centre Jesse Ramien also insists the Sharks can go all the way this year despite the setbacks of the past fortnight.
“There’s not a doubt in the world in our mind, in these four walls here. We’ve got massive confidence,” he said.
“Winning games changes all that. It’s a simple fix — go out there and win some games.”
If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your .
To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.